Check Any UK Firm Before You Pay Them.
Director history, phoenix company patterns, insolvency, overdue filings, HSE convictions and tribunal records. One search, one clear verdict, in plain English.
Free
Verdict and top warning signs
No sign-up
£4.99
Full report with PDF
One-time, no subscription
0-100
Risk score
Method published in full
10+
Official sources checked
Every one linked
What the check actually does
All of this data is public. Almost none of it is practical to gather yourself, because it sits across ten different registers and none of them talk to each other.
No sign-up needed
- ✓Red / amber / green verdict
- ✓Top warning signs
- ✓Company status & age
- ✓Registered office
- ✓Overdue filings check
- ✓Insolvency status
- ✓Director count
- ✓Which registers apply
£4.99 one-time
Everything free, plus:
- ★Full director network
- ★Phoenix pattern analysis
- ★Every register with links
- ★HSE conviction history
- ★Tribunal decisions
- ★Charges & borrowing
- ★Insurance checklist
- ★Downloadable PDF
Director forensics
We follow every director to their other companies and count what happened to them: dissolved, liquidated, struck off. Companies House holds this, but only if you know to click through each officer. Almost nobody does.
Phoenix pattern detection
The classic trap: a company fails owing money, and the same people restart under a new name. We flag it when the timing lines up, and tell you exactly which predecessor company to ask about.
Insolvency and status
Active, dissolved, in liquidation, in administration, or proposed for strike-off, with the procedure type. Paying a deposit to a company in an insolvency procedure is money you are unlikely to see again.
Filing behaviour
Overdue accounts are a legal breach and one of the earliest visible signs of a company in trouble. We check accounts and confirmation statements and tell you how late they are.
Enforcement and tribunals
HSE convictions and enforcement notices, plus employment tribunal decisions naming the firm. All from official registers, each one linked so you can read the case yourself.
Trade register checklist
Gas Safe, TrustMark, NICEIC, FMB, redress schemes, client money protection, AML supervision. The badges firms display are often not held. We give you the direct link to verify each one.
If you already know the trade
Extra pages for builders, letting agents and accountants. The search above works for any UK company.
Builder Check
They want a deposit before starting
Director history, phoenix patterns, HSE convictions and enforcement notices, plus every trade register you should verify before paying.
🏠Letting Agent Check
They will be holding your rent
Redress scheme and client money protection are legally required for letting agents. We show you what to check and what the company records say.
📊Accountant Check
They will handle your tax affairs
Every accountancy firm must be supervised for anti-money-laundering. We show the company position and where to confirm supervision and qualifications.
Only have a company name or number? Use the company check.
Search the public registers directly
The same official sources the report reads, free to search on their own, with a link back to the company behind every entry.
Company director search
Find a director by name and see every company they are appointed to, and what happened to each one.
Employment tribunal decisions
Search published tribunal judgments by employer, or browse by type of claim.
HSE prosecutions and notices
The published health and safety conviction register, plus the latest enforcement notices.
Is this company legit?
The seven free checks that tell you whether a UK business is real, trading and worth paying.
What this check is not
It is not a credit score, not a recommendation, and not proof that a firm is honest or competent. A clean record means nothing bad has been recorded publicly, which is not the same as nothing bad having happened. Use it the way you would use a reference: one input among several, alongside seeing previous work, getting the contract in writing, and never paying large sums up front.
Common questions
Why pay when Companies House is free?
Companies House is free and we use it, but it shows one company at a time and interprets nothing. Our report follows every director to their other companies, counts the failures, spots phoenix patterns, checks HSE and tribunal records, and turns the lot into a plain-English verdict. Doing it yourself means visiting ten or more sites and knowing what you are looking at. Most people do not, which is exactly how they lose a deposit.
What does the free check include?
Company status, age, registered office, the headline red, amber or green verdict with the top warning signs, how many directors the firm has, and whether accounts are overdue. Enough to tell you quickly whether there is a problem worth paying attention to.
What does the £4.99 report add?
The full director network with every other company each director is involved in and what happened to them, phoenix analysis, charges and secured borrowing, complete HSE conviction and enforcement history, employment tribunal decisions, the full trade register checklist for that trade with direct verification links, an insurance checklist, and a PDF you can save or share.
Is this a credit check or a credit score?
No. We are not a credit reference agency and our score is not a credit rating. It is an information summary built from public records, and we publish exactly how it is calculated. It is designed to answer 'should I be careful about paying this firm?', not 'what credit limit should I extend?'.
Can you check sole traders and partnerships?
Partially. Sole traders do not file at Companies House, so there is no company record to check. HSE convictions, employment tribunals and the trade registers still apply, and the report will tell you clearly which sources returned nothing because the firm is not a limited company.
What if the report says something wrong about my firm?
Every item in the report links to the public source it came from. If a source is wrong, correcting it at source (Companies House, HSE, a trade register) corrects our report at the next refresh. If you believe we have matched you to the wrong record, email hello@checkafirm.co.uk and we will investigate and correct it.
Check them before the money leaves your account
It takes about twenty seconds and the first check is free.